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Define and implement new tools and interfaces for moderators - Work with existing moderators and IT to define and implement new tools and interfaces to support the work of moderators. See "Improve tools and interfaces to support moderators" in Technical section above. work-in-progress
arXiv moderator coverage and evaluation - Work with subject committees to attain a full complement of moderators. Develop and implement metrics for evaluating moderator performance, to share with subject committee chairs. work-in-progress
General Physics moderation - Work with Physics Advisory Committee to implement an effective moderation process for the General Physics category. work-in-progress
Scientific Director - Work with various stakeholders to define the role of the Scientific Director with respect to daily moderation processes and workflows. work-in-progress
Evaluate administrative processes - Work with Scientific Director to evaluate arXiv administration processes and staffing, especially in light of evolving moderation tools. work-in-progress
arXiv category definitions - Work with Physics Advisory Committee to develop public subject category descriptions for existing physics categories. Only a small number of physics categories currently have descriptions. Defining the scope and boundaries of the categories will help users, moderators, and administrators. work-in-progress
Business Model & Governance
Recruit an Interim arXiv Scientific Director -We created a new position to provide intellectual leadership for arXiv's operation. First we would like to test this position and refine the job description. In support of this goal, we'll recruit a temporary Scientific Director at 0.50 FTE capacity for an 18-month term to explore how such a position can contribute to arXiv in formulating overall scientific direction of the service and its policies. SD recruited
Test and refine the operation of the new governance model -The arXiv principles aim to clarify the authority, responsibilities, and constraints of CUL, MAB, and SAB. Ironing out problems and developing a working system will require some time to test and observe the inner operation of the governance model. We will continue our engagements with the advisory boards and experiment with different communication strategies to share our vision, priorities, and challenges and to seek their input. work-in-progress
Further refine the benefits of being a member for participating institutions - During the governance planning meetings, several ideas emerged as potential free services for members; however, implementing these features may require significant staff time. Therefore these services need to be considered in the context of arXiv’s current maintenance and development priorities. We will engage the MAB and SAB in discussing possible ideas and assess their potential value and requirements from the arXiv team. work-in-progress - discussion item for SAB/MAB meetings
Continue the membership drive - We are very encouraged with the five-year pledges received so far. We want to increase the number of arXiv member institutions to create a large and international network of supporters. We recently formed two SAB subcommittees. The first one aims to assess and revise our tier model to consider other classes of member categories such as scientific societies (to be implemented during the next 5-year plan). The second group will focus on fund raising policies & strategies such as the potential addition of a 'Give' button to arXiv homepage to encourage donations. work-in-progress - discussion item for MAB meeting
New Partnerships & Communication
Continue the dialogue with publishers/societies - Continue information exchange with publishers/societies represented in arXiv, especially in exploring the evolving public policies and open access mandates. One of the ideas we are considering is implementing a pilot with the IOP for facilitating deposit of author version of articles to arXiv after they are published. work-in-progress (IOP pilot delayed due to the publisher's current focus on CHORUS)
Define and communicate measures of success - Over the next several months, we want to create an assessment model to help CUL continue to fine-tune the sustainability model. Working with SAB and MAB, we will draft desired outcomes and success measures (for instance, dynamics of the governance model, level of financial support, enhancements to arXiv, improvements to moderation system, etc.). work-in-progress